The Maricopa Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to uphold its suspension of embattled Assessor Paul Petersen, the man accused of operating an illegal adoption ring involving pregnant women from the Marshall Islands.
Before voting to sustain his suspension, Chairman Bill Gates said that Petersen’s county laptop was wiped clean twice. He said despite that, more than 2,000 documents related to Petersen’s adoption practice were found. Some of those items were screenshots of messages to women who had changed their minds about their adoptions.
"Mr. Petersen advising that he would remove his name from that apartment causing that woman to be evicted … and a message from Mr. Petersen stating, 'All you girls work for me not the other way around.'"
Gates also says the evidence against Petersen overwhelmingly justifies the suspension.
"What we have learned from both the preliminary report and the supplemental report, in my mind, is more than enough to establish neglect of duty, and I also believe that it supports a finding of willful misconduct in office," he said.
Besides upholding Petersen’s suspension, the board unanimously voted to ask County Attorney Allister Adel to seek Petersen’s removal for misconduct of office.
